Short answer. Yes. Article 1668 states without qualification that the lessee is liable for any deterioration caused by members of his household and by guests and visitors. It does not matter that you were out, did not know, or told them not to touch anything.
What the law says
The lessee is liable for any deterioration caused by members of his household and by guests and visitors.
Civil Code, Article 1668 — Liability for Household and Guests. Read the full provision →
A rule with no escape clause in it
Article 1668 is one line long: The lessee is liable for any deterioration caused by members of his household and by guests and visitors. There is no requirement that the tenant was negligent in admitting them, no exception for damage he could not have prevented, and no distinction between someone who lives with him and someone who came for an evening. The lease was granted to you, the people inside are there on your account, and the landlord is not expected to chase strangers he never dealt with. Whatever claim you have against the person who actually did the damage is yours to pursue separately.
Who counts as household, guest or visitor
The categories are broad by design. Family and others living in the unit are obviously covered, and so are overnight guests, friends at a party, and a visitor who stayed twenty minutes. In practice the argument is about people who are neither: a delivery rider, a repairman sent by the landlord himself, a building contractor, someone who forced entry. A person who is on the premises against your will is not your visitor, and one sent by the lessor to do the lessor's work is not there on your account. Establishing how the person came to be inside is the first thing to do.
What deterioration means here
Liability attaches to deterioration, which does not sweep in everything that looks worse than it did. Article 1665 still governs the return of the property and still saves what has been lost or impaired by the lapse of time, by ordinary wear and tear, or from an inevitable cause. Ordinary use by a household is exactly what a residential lease contemplates, so a family's worn floor is not deterioration a tenant answers for under this article. A broken window, a scorched counter or a wall damaged during a gathering is.
Where the burden of proof sits
Article 1668 is best read alongside Article 1667, which makes the lessee responsible for the deterioration or loss of the thing leased unless he proves it took place without his fault, except where the destruction is due to earthquake, flood, storm or other natural calamity. Between the two, a tenant faced with damage he says a stranger caused is proving a negative. The practical answer is the same as for every move-out dispute: an inventory and dated photographs at the start, an incident report and a blotter entry when something happens, and repairs done and receipted before you hand back the keys.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Felsan Realty & Devt. Corp. vs. Commonwealth of Australia, G.R. No. 169656, October 11, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1668 — Liability for Household and Guests
- Civil Code, Article 1667 — Lessee's Liability for Loss/Deterioration
- Civil Code, Article 1665 — Return of the Thing Leased
- Civil Code, Article 1657 — Obligations of the Lessee